Just weeks after flooding in Tennessee, Kentucky & Mississippi killed at least 31 people, floods in Arkansas killed at least 20 people this week. And today, parts of Oklahoma City have gotten over 9 inches of rain. An Oklahoma City official told CNN, “Areas are flooding that have never flooded before.”

Should we keep calling these “freak floods” or “extreme weather”? Or, given that these kinds of severe storms are exactly what climate scientists have been predicting as a consequence of global warming, do we have to re-adjust what we consider “normal”?

As Brad Johnson tweeted, welcome to the Anthropocene.

Somehow the gang that is still looking for the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has managed to stumble upon a trillion dollars in natural resources in Afghanistan. The imagined threat has been replaced by the promise of riches. Anything to justify the effort. Pardon the skepticism but, come on.

This “discovery” will be embraced by the same bunch that saw a free Iraq gratefully reimbursing the United States’ expenditures of blood and treasure from the oil wealth under its soil. For years some very fine military personnel traded emails about the find of the day. We all hoped that the justification would prove true. Any trace of precursor chemicals fueled the hope that doubts about the necessity for prosecuting this war would be wiped clean. It never came. It never will.

Now a very dubious report splashes across the front pages that provides a very different justification for a very different prosecution. It fits so neatly. If we only stay the course, if we invest the time necessary, not only can we defeat terrorism at its source, we can also transform an impoverished nation into the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” We have dumped building democracies for building economic engines. Find this in the National Security Strategy under…?

Do the business case. Okay, so there is a trillion bucks worth of unproven resources at best. They are spread throughout the country (conveniently there are deposits near and maybe in Pakistan too). We’ll just take all the indigenous heavy equipment and trained labor, pull the minerals/ore from the ground, transport it over the highly developed (and secure) highway system infrastructure to the modern port of… Oh, wait, looks like a job for Halliburton or Brown and Root. Sweet deal! If it turns out there are as many natural resources in Afghanistan as there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, no harm, no foul. At least this time we get some of our investment returned indirectly. Oh, maybe that is happening in Iraq too. Talk about redistribution of wealth.

Courtesy of the Republican Party of Virginia, here’s an event you won’t want to miss! 🙂

Last Chance! Register for the RPV Reception featuring Karl Rove TODAY! This upcoming Tuesday, June 15th, RPV cordially invites you to attend a reception featuring Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in McLean, Virginia.  Event sponsors will have a special opportunity to sit down with Karl Rove prior to the reception for a private strategy session to discuss the 2010 elections followed by a photo op.   Following the Strategy Session we will hold a General Reception where attendees will get a chance to meet our special guests.  To RSVP or to learn more information about the Strategy Session and Reception, you can visit www.RPV.org/Rove.  Those in attendance will receive a complimentary signed copy of Karl Rove’s new book “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight.”

You only have 48 hours until left to register, so please RSVP TODAY! We look forward to seeing you there!  Visit www.RPV.org/Rove now! Pat Mullins

RPV Chairman Republican Party of Virginia

115 East Grace Street

Richmond, VA 23219

www.rpv.org

804-780-0111

Paid for and authorized by the Republican Party of Virginia

A lively crowd of about 130 jammed Ikon Sports Bar in the City of Fairfax on Thursday evening to celebrate State Senator Chap Petersen’s annual Young Lawyers’ party. The fund raiser attracted an interesting mix of plenty of not-young and not-lawyers, as well as many independents and Republicans, showing support for their Democratic Senator. Senator Petersen spoke briefly about representing the interests and concerns of the residents of the 34th District. Below are some photos of the crowd, taken by Catherine Read.

More photos after the “flip”

The following is from Susan Mariner, who asked me to post this for her.  Susan came very close yesterday, and from what I hear received nothing but positive feedback on her run for DPVA 1st Vice Chair of Organization. I’m confident that Susan has a great future ahead of her as a Virginia Democrat (and otherwise). She is a class act all the way.

Fellow Democrats,

Please join me in congratulating Gaylene Kanoyton on her election as DPVA 1st Vice Chair of Organization. Gaylene ran a strong, energetic, and determined campaign.  These traits demonstrate the kind of outstanding leader Gaylene is, has been, and will be for the Democratic Party.  I look forward to working with and in support of Gaylene in her efforts to put “Boots on the Ground!”

I also wanted to thank all of my supporters and the many new friends I made over the past few weeks.  Together we talked about how we could grow the Democratic Party across this great Commonwealth.  This was a positive campaign based on maximum inclusion.  I am proud of what this campaign was about and was deeply honored to have gained the votes and friendship of so many.  And though I fell a little shy of the votes I would have needed to win, be assured that I will keep working together with you to make this a Bluer Virginia.  

On that note, I hope everyone will join me in making GOTV calls for Kai Degner’s and Bill Brown’s special election Tuesday.  To make calls from home for Kai, please email trent@DegnerforDelegate.com  To make calls from home for Bill, please email plclerkin@gmail.com   For those of us who don’t live nearby enough to put our “Boots on the Ground,” let’s put our “Fingers on the Dial” for these great Democrats.

In unity towards Democratic victories in 2010 and beyond,

Susan Mariner

Chair, Virginia Beach Democratic Committee

UPDATE: Also, here is Gaylene Kanoytan’s statement:

“Yes, We Won! Thank you!”

“To whom much is given, much is required” Luke 12:48

This journey started 3 weeks ago, when Long time Democrat Pixie Bell asked me for the final time to run and I accepted after speaking to Delegate Jennifer McClellan. I thank them both for their support.

Yesterday was a joyous bittersweet day for me! Joyous- Yes WE won the 1st Vice Chair of Operations position and I say “WE” because of the enormous thoughts, prayers and support! Thank you! Bittersweet: During the nomination segment my Church member and very good friend (like a mother) was being funeralized. However, I could hear her voice of support during the entire process. Friendship is Golden and yesterday my opponent Susan did what Democrats do ,when you fall short of votes. A Good Democrat give their votes to the winner to make the vote unanimous. I thank her for that measure of Unity. I attended the National Convention when Hilliary Clinton gave her Delegates to Pres. Obama and the Unity in the audience was awesome!. Senator Locke had me in tears with her 1st nomination speech, she has known me for 30 years..taught me in college and Sean Houlihan President of the YD’s 2nd nomination speech was awesome! It’s great to have people to speak on your behalf that actually know your work. Now I’m ready to

“PUT BOOTS ON THE GROUND,BOOTS ON THE GROUND, WE’RE GOING TO WIN WITH OUR BOOTS ON THE GROUND!” Thank you all and stay tuned!

UPDATE #2: Gaylene Kanoytan has posted a revised version of her statement here.

The Richmond Times Dispatch’s Jeff Shapiro attempts to analyze a 2012 rematch of Senator Jim Webb and former Senator George Allen today. If what he opines is true, Allen should stay away from a rematch. The problem is, at least for criminal sentencing, he doesn’t get Webb much at all.

Sadly, Shapiro either has ignored Webb on the issue of our criminal justice system or doesn’t understand the sorry state of a society that locks away too many who haven’t conformed. It seems that he believes Webb’s focus on this issue is simply a self-serving effort to attract minority voters with the lure of a shameful situation that disproportionately affects African-Americans and other minorities. Well Jeff, that Webb is a wily one. Years and years ago he studied and visited Japanese criminal justice and prisons because he knew that one day he would need to use incarceration as an issue in his reelection campaign against an ethnically bewildered opponent.

That Webb is “a distant brooder who is schmooze-challenged as a candidate” can’t be argued. He is not going to win by glad-handing. The Senator will have to rely upon his record. So for the other side, it is important to discredit or diminish his accomplishments in office. Criminal sentencing is one that can be twisted, particularly by a no shades of gray, law and order advocate like Allen. About the only accomplishment that will be off the table might be the GI Bill. So to win, Webb’s campaign will have to develop a clear theme of commonsense populist action to counter the misrepresentations.

Actually, it is difficult to be certain of Shapiro’s argument until the very end of his piece where it sort of falls into place. Shapiro seems to think that Webb would win in a rematch because Webb is the lesser of two evils for African-American voters. The “macaca moment,” for Shapiro, is the fulcrum that will give Webb the advantage. Shapiro misattributes the Chinese proverb “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” to explain why Webb would draw some of the motivated Obama voters. But it may be Allen himself who pulls the plug on a race against Webb. There are many other reasons to vote for Webb over Allen or any other; Webb just has to get them out there.

Global warming isn’t just raising air temperatures; it’s raising ocean temperatures as well. And if you’re a lobster living in already-warm Gulf Stream waters, even a small increase in temperature can push you past a tipping point, make you more vulnerable to bacteria & disease.

Scientists say it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening right now, with lobsters populations declining by as much as 50% off southern Massachusetts. It’s not just devastating for the crustaceans — it’s disastrous for the people whose jobs depend on lobsters:

Lobster populations in a large swath of the Atlantic Ocean have declined so much that biologists are recommending a five-year ban on catching lobsters south of Cape Cod down to Virginia to allow the stock to bounce back. […]

Lobstermen, many who learned about the proposal in recent weeks, said they were being blamed for a problem that was not their doing. Bernie Feeney of the lobstermen’s association said regulators are suggesting the moratorium because, unlike warming sea waters, “it is the only variable they have control over. And fishermen take it on the chin every time.”

It’s not like lobsters are going extinct anytime soon. But to lobstermen, there may not be much practical difference between “extinct” and “not vibrant enough to support a lobstering industry.”

But Bernie Feeney is right — the people feeling the effects of global warming have been far too silent about its causes for far too long. Will more lobstermen now speak up about the need to end our addiction to polluting fuels & move to clean energy sources? We’ll see.